Bloodlust

During the Storm Wars, one of Nathel's prized Hyer Ackif scored hundreds of kills against the Karatikan druids, and came to be known as Druid Slayer. The Karatikan druids had a powerful bond with the land that often allowed them to double their endurance, strength, and fortitude. Blows that would normally be fatal were shrugged aside, and most blades were useless when the druids called upon that bond. Whether the bond was a prayer of Barith's or a side-effect of the druids' dominance in the north is unknown, but it made slaying them very difficult for the Nathelian deep strike agents, such as the Hyer Ackif.

Nathel bid his archon Nabrol grant any wish to Druid Slayer, in return for the death knells of four ArchDruids during one particular raid. Druid Slayer requested a special weapon that would cut the Karatikan druids down, whether they drew upon their land bond, or not. Nabrol acquiesed by creating the sword 'Bloodlust'. The errant archon intended for Druid Slayer to die, and cursed the sword so that Druid Slayer would be unable to withdraw from combat. Such a death would remove suspicion from Nabrol, and probably result in the destruction of so vile and dangerous a sword.

Druid Slayer managed to kill one more ArchDruid, before the curse of Bloodlust overcame the Hyer Ackif. Just as Nabrol had hoped, blame was shifted to Druid Slayer, citing recklessness; however, instead of destroying Bloodlust, the Church of K'Tath took up the weapon. Hoping to duplicate its powers, the church studied the longsword for close to a century, before placing it in one of the fabled Vaults of the Inquisition. Whether the Church of K'Tath managed to unlock the secrets of the sword or not, is unknown.

Bloodlust is a cursed +2 keen longsword of halving, made from a single piece of blood red, unrustable steel. The hilt is bound in red leather straps and red steel wire, and the crossguard is covered in close to a thousand tiny runes of Nathelian prayer. Stamped along the blade in large Nathelian runes is the Nathelian equivalent of the word 'bloodlust'. Because of the curse upon the blade, no enemy can remain standing so long as the sword is in hand, and the sword may not be removed from the hand of the wielder until all his enemies have fallen. The blade considers anyone 'not an ally', an enemy, delving into the darker aspects of the wielders psyche. The true power of the blade takes place upon a critical (which is from 16-20) -- at which point it not only deals critical damage, but cuts the victim's hit points in half. The victim can make a Fortitude save at DC 25, and only have one quarter of his hit points stolen from him. Whether the victim successfully saves, or not, the strike is still a critical, and Bloodlust deals damage as such.

Caster Level: 18th. Prerequisites: Craft Magic Arms and Armor, keen edge, bestow curse, dominate person, harm, creator must be a Nathelian (or Nabrolian) priest. Market Price: 52,000gp.

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